User plane early data transmission (EDT) message 4 (MSG4) loss

ABSTRACT

Technology is disclosed for an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved 5 packet system (EPS) network. The eNB can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC). The eNB can be configured to determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE. The eNB can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, one or more of an EDT failure 10 indicator or the resume ID.

BACKGROUND

Wireless systems typically include multiple User Equipment (UE) devices communicatively coupled to one or more Base Stations (BS). The one or more BSs may be Long Term Evolved (LTE) evolved NodeBs (eNB) or new radio (NR) NodeBs (gNB), next generation node Bs (gNB), or new radio base stations (NR BS) that can be communicatively coupled to one or more UEs by a Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network.

Next generation wireless communication systems are expected to be a unified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. New Radio Access Technology (RAT) is expected to support a broad range of use cases including Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), Mission Critical Machine Type Communication (uMTC), and similar service types operating in frequency ranges up to 100 GHz.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the disclosure; and, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) Release 15 frame structure in accordance with an example;

FIG. 2 depicts functionality of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 3 a depicts functionality of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 3 b depicts functionality of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 3 c depicts functionality of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 3 d depicts functionality of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 4 depicts functionality of an evolved node B (eNB) can be operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 5 depicts functionality of an evolved node B (eNB) can be operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 6 depicts functionality of an evolved node B (eNB) can be operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example architecture of a system of a network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a platform or device in accordance with an example;

FIG. 9 illustrates example components of baseband circuitry and radio front end modules (RFEM) in accordance with an example;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium in accordance with an example;

FIG. 11 illustrates a diagram of a wireless device (e.g., UE) in accordance with an example; and

FIG. 12 illustrates an architecture of a system including a first core network (CN) in accordance with an example.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the technology is thereby intended.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present technology is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this technology is not limited to the particular structures, process actions, or materials disclosed herein, but is extended to equivalents thereof as would be recognized by those ordinarily skilled in the relevant arts. It should also be understood that terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting. The same reference numerals in different drawings represent the same element. Numbers provided in flow charts and processes are provided for clarity in illustrating actions and operations and do not necessarily indicate a particular order or sequence.

Example Embodiments

An initial overview of technology embodiments is provided below and then specific technology embodiments are described in further detail later. This initial summary is intended to aid readers in understanding the technology more quickly but is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the technology nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In Long Term Evolution (LTE), the Early Data Transmission (EDT) procedure for User Plane (UP) Consumer Internet of Things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) optimization has been specified, see Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 36.300 Section 7.3b.3. This procedure can be modified to support resuming on a new evolved node B (eNB) different from the old eNB where the connection was suspended.

During this EDT procedure, it is possible that cell reselection occurs or timer T300 expires after sending a (Message 3) Msg3 resume request or the user equipment (UE) may have missed the Message 4 (Msg4) that can include information for EDT (e.g., new NextHop Chaining Count (NCC), new Resume ID). But it does not affect the functionality if the UE resumes on the same eNB where the Msg4 was lost on the next time because the same eNB can use the old NCC or the old resume ID because it may be aware of unsuccessful Msg4 delivery.

However, the loss of Msg4 can affect the functionality when the UE resumes on an eNB that is different from the eNB where the Msg4 was lost. The eNB on which the Msg4 failed already became the new anchor after path switch, but because of unsuccessful Msg4 delivery, the UE may still use the old NCC or old resume ID received from the old anchor eNB for subsequent resumptions. As a result, the eNB (e.g., a third eNB that is different from the new anchor eNB and old anchor eNB) that receives the Msg3 request from the UE can trigger a context retrieval procedure onto the previous anchor before that path switch happened (e.g., the old anchor) because the UE signals based on the old resume ID associated with the old anchor eNB. However, the UE context has been already released as part of that path switch procedure, which may unnecessarily trigger the UE to fallback to IDLE or limit the UE to use UP CIoT EDT only when the UE successfully receives Msg4.

The issue can be on the network (NW) side because an eNB may not be able to point to the correct anchor because of the legacy UP EDT structure in which path switch occurs before Msg4 can be sent. Therefore, permitting the NW to continue UP EDT without limiting the UE to fallback to IDLE or unnecessarily limiting its applicability is desirable.

In one example, in a scenario including unsuccessful Msg4 delivery, the new anchor after path switch can send an EDT failure indication and a Resume ID to the previous anchor before the path switch to enable the UE to use RRC_CONNECTED mode instead of sending reject message to the UE.

In one example, in a scenario including unsuccessful Msg4 delivery, the previous anchor before the path switch can forward a new resumption request to the new anchor after the path switch. This RAN-based solution can enable the NW nodes to pinpoint the correct anchor to continue the EDT procedure without involving the core network (CN). This approach can have a minimal stage-2 impact but may require a complicated handling in the radio access network (RAN) with some stage-3 impacts on the existing X2 Application Protocol (X2-AP) messages to support this approach.

In one example, in a scenario including unsuccessful Msg4 delivery, the new anchor after the path switch can trigger to revert back the anchoring to previous anchor before the path switch. This CN-involved solution can revert the termination point of the de-activated evolved packet system (EPS) bearer back to the previous anchor before the path switch. This approach can have a minimal RAN impact but can impact some stage-3 efforts on X2-AP with significant stage-2 impacts. Also, this approach may not be efficient in case the UE resumes on the new anchor next time.

In one example, the UE can be released without anchor relocation. This approach can avoid the situation in advance by not relocating the anchor, but its applicability can be limited because the previous anchor may not have information in advance related to the success of Msg4 from the new eNB.

These alternative NW mechanisms are approaches that can limit UE impact, without limiting the feature applicability of the UE or wasting the UE's power.

In one example, an apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) can be operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network. The apparatus can comprise one or more processors. The one or more processors can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC). The one or more processors can be configured to determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE. The one or more processors can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, one or more of an EDT failure indicator or the resume ID. The eNB can further comprise a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.

FIG. 1 provides an example of a 3GPP NR Release 15 frame structure. In particular, FIG. 1 illustrates a downlink radio frame structure. In the example, a radio frame 100 of a signal used to transmit the data can be configured to have a duration, T_(f), of 10 milliseconds (ms). Each radio frame can be segmented or divided into ten subframes 110 i that are each 1 ms long. Each subframe can be further subdivided into one or multiple slots 120 a, 120 i, and 120 x, each with a duration, T_(slot), of 1/μ ms, where μ=1 for 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, μ=2 for 30 kHz, μ=4 for 60 kHz, μ=8 for 120 kHz, and μ=16 for 240 kHz. Each slot can include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and/or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

Each slot for a component carrier (CC) used by the node and the wireless device can include multiple resource blocks (RBs) 130 a, 130 b, 130 i, 130 m, and 130 n based on the CC frequency bandwidth. The CC can have a carrier frequency having a bandwidth. Each slot of the CC can include downlink control information (DCI) found in the PDCCH. The PDCCH is transmitted in control channel resource set (CORESET) which can include one, two or three Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols and multiple RBs.

Each RB (physical RB or PRB) can include 12 subcarriers (on the frequency axis) and 14 orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols (on the time axis) per slot. The RB can use 14 OFDM symbols if a short or normal cyclic prefix is employed. The RB can use 12 OFDM symbols if an extended cyclic prefix is used. The resource block can be mapped to 168 resource elements (REs) using short or normal cyclic prefixing, or the resource block can be mapped to 144 REs (not shown) using extended cyclic prefixing. The RE can be a unit of one OFDM symbol 142 by one subcarrier (i.e., 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz) 146.

Each RE 140 i can transmit two bits 150 a and 150 b of information in the case of quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation. Other types of modulation may be used, such as 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) or 64 QAM to transmit a greater number of bits in each RE, or bi-phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation to transmit a lesser number of bits (a single bit) in each RE. The RB can be configured for a downlink transmission from the NR BS to the UE, or the RB can be configured for an uplink transmission from the UE to the NR BS.

This example of the 3GPP NR Release 15 frame structure provides examples of the way in which data is transmitted, or the transmission mode. The example is not intended to be limiting. Many of the Release 15 features will evolve and change in the 5G frame structures included in 3GPP LTE Release 15, MulteFire Release 1.1, and beyond. In such a system, the design constraint can be on co-existence with multiple 5G numerologies in the same carrier due to the coexistence of different network services, such as eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications or massive IoT) and URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications or Critical Communications). The carrier in a 5G system can be above or below 6 GHz. In one embodiment, each network service can have a different numerology.

In another example, as depicted in FIG. 2 , a call flow for EDT when resuming in new eNB can include: a random access preamble transmitted from a UE 210 to a new eNB 220, as in operation 202; and a random access response transmitted from the new eNB 220 to the UE 210, as in operation 204.

In another example, an RRCConnectionResume Request can include one or more of a resume identifier (ID), a resumeCause, or a shortResumeMAC-I. The RRCConnectionResume Request and uplink data can be transmitted from the UE 210 to the new eNB 220, as in operation 206. In another example, an X2 application protocol (AP) (X2-AP) retrieve UE context request can be transmitted from the new eNB 220 to the old eNB 230, as in operation 208. In another example, an X2-AP retrieve UE context response can be transmitted from the old eNB 230 to the new eNB 220, as in operation 212.

In another example, an S1-AP path switch request can be transmitted from the new eNB 220 to a mobility management entity (MME) 240, as depicted in operation 214. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 240 and a serving gateway (S-GW) 250, as depicted in operation 216. In another example, an S1-AP path switch request acknowledgement (ACK) can be transmitted from the MME 240 to the new eNB 220, as depicted in operation 218. In another example, an X2-AP UE context release can be transmitted from the new eNB 220 to the old eNB 230, as depicted in operation 222.

In another example, uplink (UL) data can be transmitted from the new eNB 220 to the S-GW 250, as depicted in operation 224. In another example, downlink (DL) data can be transmitted from the S-GW 250 to the new eNB 220, as depicted in operation 226. In another example, an S1 suspend procedure can be communicated between the MME 240 and the new eNB 220, as depicted in operation 228. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 240 and the S-GW 250, as depicted in operation 232. In another example, an RRCConnectionRelease can include one or more of a releaseCause, a resumeID, or a NextHop Chaining Count (NCC). The RRCConnectionRelease and downlink data can be transmitted from the new eNB 220 to the UE 210, as depicted in operation 234.

In another example, operation 234 may not be successful. In this scenario, a new resume ID and a new NCC may not be provisioned to the UE 210, while the new eNB 220 may become the new anchor to serve the UE 210 from the network (NW) point of view. If the UE 210 resumes on different eNB next time, then the UE 210 might use the old resume ID and the old NCC. As a result, the X2-AP context retrieval may be requested to the previous anchor (i.e. the old eNB 230), but the previous anchor (i.e. the old eNB 230) may not have this information because the related UE context information may have been released from the previous anchor in operation 222. Therefore, the X2-AP context retrieval procedure can fail, which can result in UE fallback to IDLE and re-establishment of the RRC Connection. The failure of the X2-AP context retrieval procedure can be inefficient waste battery consumption.

In one example, as depicted in FIG. 3 a , the RRCConnectionRelease in Msg4 can include one or more of a releaseCause, a new resumeID, or an NCC. The RRCConnectionRelease can be attempted to be transmitted from the new anchor eNB 320 a to the UE 310, as depicted in operation 302 a.

In one example, in a scenario in which RRCConnectionRelease delivery (e.g., Message 4 (Msg4) delivery) is unsuccessful, a new anchor node (e.g., new anchor eNB 320 a) which already became the new anchor after the path switch can send an EDT failure indication and a Resume ID to the previous anchor node (e.g., old anchor eNB 330).

In another example, when the RRCConnectionRelease delivery is unsuccessful in operation 302 a, the new anchor eNB 320 a can be configured to transmit an X2-AP EDT failure indication and an old Resume ID to an old anchor eNB 330, as depicted in operation 304 a.

In another example, a random access preamble can be transmitted from the UE 310 to the new eNB 320 b, as in operation 306 a. In another example, a random access response can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 b to the UE 310, as in operation 308 a.

In another example, an RRCConnectionResumeRequest can include one or more of an old resumeID, a resumeCause, or a shortResumeMAC-I). In another example, the RRCConnectionResumeRequest and uplink data can be transmitted from the UE 310 to the new eNB 320 b, as depicted in operation 312 a. In another example, an X2-AP retrieve UE context request can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 b to the old anchor eNB 330, as depicted in operation 314 a.

In another example, an X2-AP previous EDT failure indication and no UE context can be transmitted from the old anchor eNB 330 to the new eNB 320 b, as depicted in operation 316 a. In another example, an RRCConnectionSetup can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 b to the UE 310 in a Msg4 to initiate a new legacy RRC Connection, as depicted in operation 318 a.

In the example depicted in FIG. 3 a , the new anchor eNB 320 a can become the new anchor eNB after the path switch and suspend procedure but before sending Msg4 to the UE 310. In one example, the new anchor eNB 320 a can be configured to determine that the Msg4 delivery to the UE 310 is not successful and can be configured to send the EDT failure indication and resume ID to the previous anchor eNB (e.g., old anchor eNB 330). When the UE 310 resumes in a different eNB (i.e. an eNB that is different from new anchor 320 a and old anchor eNB 330) with the old resume ID of the old anchor eNB 330, the old anchor eNB 330 can determine that EDT was a failure and can send an EDT failure indication to the new eNB 320 b in which the UE 310 is attempting to resume. The new eNB 320 b can be configured to enable RRC_CONNECTED instead of sending a reject message by sending a legacy RRCConnectionSetup message in Msg4. In this scenario, the UE can abort the EDT and set up a new connection to retransmit the data.

In another example, the stage-2 call flow as depicted in FIG. 3 a may not be changed. In another example, the new eNB 320 b can be configured to move the UE to RRC-CONNECTED instead of sending a reject message. In another example, EDT may not be continued.

In another example, the new anchor eNB 320 a can be configured to send one or more of the EDT failure indication or the old resume ID so that the old anchor eNB 330 can respond with an X2-AP previous EDT failure and no UE context to the new eNB 320 b, as depicted in operation 316 a. In another example, the X2-AP UE CONTEXT RELEASE message can be enhanced or defined. In another example, the X2-AP RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT RESPONSE message can be enhanced.

In one example, as depicted in FIG. 3 b , in a scenario in which RRCConnectionRelease delivery (e.g., Message 4 (Msg4) delivery) is unsuccessful, an old anchor node (e.g., old eNB 330) can forward a new resumption request to the new anchor node (e.g., new eNB 320), which became the new anchor node after the path switch.

In another example, a random access preamble can be transmitted from the UE 310 to the new eNB 320, as in operation 302 b. In another example, a random access response can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the UE 310, as in operation 304 b.

In another example, an RRCConnectionResumeRequest can include one or more of a resumeID, a resumeCause, or a shortResumeMAC-I). In another example, the RRCConnectionResumeRequest and uplink data can be transmitted from the UE 310 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 306 b. In another example, an X2-AP retrieve UE context request can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 308 b.

In another example, an X2-AP retrieve UE context response can be transmitted from the old eNB 330 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 312 b. In another example, an S1-AP path switch request can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to an MME 340, as depicted in operation 314 b. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 340 and the S-GW 350, as depicted in 316 b. In another example, an S1-AP path switch request ACK can be transmitted from the MME 340 to a new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 318 b.

In another example, the new eNB 320 can attempt to transmit an X2-AP UE context release (i.e. a Msg4) from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 322 b. In another example, UL data can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the S-GW 350, as depicted in operation 324 b. In another example, DL data can be transmitted from the S-GW 350 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 326 b. In another example, an S1 suspend procedure can be communicated between the new eNB 320 and the MME 340, as depicted in operation 328 b. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 340 and the S-GW 350, as depicted in operation 332 b.

In another example, an RRCConnectionRelease can include one or more of a releaseCause, resumeID, or an NCC. In another example, the RRCConnectionRelease and downlink data can be attempted to be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the UE 310, as depicted in operation 334 b. In another example, an X2-AP UE context release can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 336 b. In one example, when the RRCConnectionRelease transmission is unsuccessful, the old eNB 330 can be configured to forward the future resumption request to the new eNB 320.

In another example, in a scenario in which Msg4 delivery is unsuccessful, when the UE 310 resumes on another eNB, the old eNB 330 can receive a request for context retrieval based on the old resume ID. If the old eNB 330 can forward this retrieval request (from another eNB) to the new eNB 320, then the EDT procedure can be continued.

In another example, the old eNB 330 can provide the old resume ID and the old NCC when forwarding so that new eNB 320 can use the old resume ID and the old NCC to verify the resume request. The transport network layer (TNL) information of the eNB with which the UE has resumed and the eNB UE X2-AP ID that the eNB has allocated for the UE can be forwarded from the old eNB 330 to the new eNB 320. The NCC, TNL, and eNB UE X2-AP ID can have a stage-3 impact on the X2AP RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT REQUEST message.

In another example, the NW can be configured to coordinate old eNB 330 forwarding of the future retrieval request to the new eNB 320 based on unsuccessful Msg4 delivery. In another example, forwarding can be assumed if the old eNB 330 does not receive the X2-AP UE CONTEXT RELEASE message from the new eNB 320 to release UE context in the old eNB 330. In another example, operation 322 b can be moved after operation 334 b and can occur when Msg4 delivery is successful. If Msg4 delivery is unsuccessful, then the new eNB 320 can determine whether to send X2AP UE CONTEXT RELEASE. In this example, the new eNB 320 can be configured to send the X2AP UE CONTEXT RELEASE when the UE 310 resumes on the new eNB 320 again.

In another example, the new eNB 320 can be configured to send the X2-AP UE CONTEXT RELEASE message to the old eNB 330 with an indication that Msg4 delivery was unsuccessful to allow the old eNB 330 to determine whether to forward or not (i.e. operation 322 b can be moved or repeated after operation 334 b. If operation 322 b is repeated, then the old UE Context can be provided, and can occur regardless of whether Msg4 delivery was successful or not. But if Msg4 delivery is unsuccessful, then a failure indicator can be included.

In another example, the new eNB 320 may not send X2-AP UE CONTEXT RELEASE again even when the UE 310 resumes on the new eNB 320 again. In one example, a new X2-AP message can be defined. In another example, there can be minimal stage-2 impact. In another example, the core network (CN) may not be involved (e.g. if the UE resumes on the new eNB 320 again, then an additional path switch may not occur).

In another example, when Msg4 delivery fails consecutively (i.e. unsuccessful in another eNB) and the X2-AP UE CONTEXT REQUEST message from another eNB is addressed directly to the new eNB 320, then it can be forwarded to the old eNB 330 where the subsequent resume request is addressed (based on the old resume ID). In another example, some stage-3 changes can be defined for X2-AP RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT REQUEST (to include old UE Context, old NCC, TNL, and eNB UE X2AP ID of another eNB) and for X2-AP UE CONTEXT RELEASE (to include a forwarding indication).

In another example, as depicted in FIG. 3 c , when Msg4 delivery is unsuccessful, the new eNB 320 which became the new anchor after the path switch can be configured to revert anchoring back to the old eNB 330.

In another example, a random access preamble can be transmitted from the UE 310 to the new eNB 320, as in operation 302 c. In another example, a random access response can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the UE 310, as in operation 304 c.

In another example, an RRCConnectionResumeRequest can include one or more of a resumeID, a resumeCause, or a shortResumeMAC-I). In another example, the RRCConnectionResumeRequest and uplink data can be transmitted from the UE 310 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 306 c. In another example, an X2-AP retrieve UE context request can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 308 c.

In another example, an X2-AP retrieve UE context response can be transmitted from the old eNB 330 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 312 c. In another example, an S1-AP path switch request can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to an MME 340, as depicted in operation 314 c. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 340 and the S-GW 350, as depicted in 316 c. In another example, an S1-AP path switch request ACK can be transmitted from the MME 340 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 318 c.

In another example, the new eNB 320 can attempt to transmit an X2-AP UE context release (i.e. a Msg4) from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 322 c. In another example, UL data can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the S-GW 350, as depicted in operation 324 c. In another example, DL data can be transmitted from the S-GW 350 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 326 c. In another example, an S1 suspend procedure can be communicated between the new eNB 320 and the MME 340, as depicted in operation 328 c. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 340 and the S-GW 350, as depicted in operation 332 c.

In another example, an RRCConnectionRelease can include one or more of a releaseCause, a resumeID, or an NCC. In another example, the RRCConnectionRelease and downlink data can be attempted to be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the UE 310, as depicted in operation 334 c. In another example, an X2-AP UE context release can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 336 c, when the RRCConnectionRelease is successful. In another example, an X2-AP path switch request can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 338 c, when the RRCConnectionRelease is unsuccessful.

In another example, an S1-AP path switch request can be transmitted from the old eNB 330 to the MME 340, as depicted in operation 342 c. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 340 and the S-GW 350, as depicted in operation 344 c. In another example, an S1-AP path switch request ACK can be transmitted from the MME 340 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 346 c. In another example, an X2-AP path switch response can be transmitted from the old eNB 330 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 348 c.

In another example, the NW can be configured to revert the anchoring back to the previous anchor. This can be achieved if operation 322 c (X2-AP UE Context Release) is moved after operation 334 c when operation 334 c is successful, and, if operation 334 c is unsuccessful, then operation 338 c (X2-AP Path Switch Request) can request the old eNB 330 to trigger a path switch to revert the termination point of the de-activated evolved packet system (EPS) bearer back to the old eNB 330. In another example, when operation 322 c occurs before operation 334 c, then operation 338 c can include the UE Context to provide it to the old eNB 330 in case of unsuccessful Msg4 delivery. In another example, stage-2 and stage-3 can be impacted.

In another example, as illustrated in FIG. 3 d , the UE can be released without anchor relocation. In another example, a random access preamble can be transmitted from the UE 310 to the new eNB 320, as in operation 302 d. In another example, a random access response can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the UE 310, as in operation 304 d.

In another example, an RRCConnectionResumeRequest can include one or more of a resumeID, a resumeCause, or a shortResumeMAC-I). In another example, the RRCConnectionResumeRequest and uplink data can be transmitted from the UE 310 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 306 d. In another example, an X2-AP retrieve UE context request can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 308 d. In another example, uplink data 308 e can be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the old eNB 330 in operation 308 d.

In another example, an S1-AP context resume request can be transmitted from the old eNB 330 to an MME 340, as depicted in operation 312 d. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 340 and the S-GW 350, as depicted in 314 d. In another example, an S1-AP path UE context resume response can be transmitted from the MME 340 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 316 d.

In another example, UL data can be transmitted from the old eNB 330 to the S-GW 350, as depicted in operation 318 d. In another example, DL data can be transmitted from the S-GW 350 to the old eNB 330, as depicted in operation 322 d. In another example, an S1 suspend procedure can be communicated between the old eNB 330 and the MME 340, as depicted in operation 324 d. In another example, a modify bearer communication can be communicated between the MME 340 and the S-GW 350, as depicted in operation 326 d. In another example, an X2-AP retrieve UE context response can be transmitted from the old eNB 330 to the new eNB 320, as depicted in operation 328 d. In another example, downlink data 328 e can be transmitted from the old eNB 330 to the new eNB 320 in operation 328 d.

In another example, an RRCConnectionRelease can include one or more of a releaseCause, a resumeID, or an NCC. In another example, the RRCConnectionRelease and downlink data can be attempted to be transmitted from the new eNB 320 to the UE 310, as depicted in operation 332 d.

In another example, the UE can be released without anchor relocation, wherein the old eNB 330 can determine whether to relocate the anchor or not. If the old eNB 330 relocates the anchor, then the RRCConnectionRelease can be forwarded via new eNB 320 and thus reduce the subsequent path switch signaling. Uplink and Downlink data can also be forwarded and sent via new eNB 320.

In another example, when the UE 310 resumes successfully in a new eNB 320, the old eNB 330 can be requested by the UE 310 to release the UE 310 and the old eNB 330 can request the new eNB 320 to release the UE 310. In another example, the old eNB 330 and the new eNB 320 can be configured to have a timer to release the UE 310 after msg4 delivery failure is detected.

Another example provides functionality 400 of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, as shown in FIG. 4 . The eNB can comprise one or more processors. The one or more processors can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC), as in block 410. The one or more processors can be configured to determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE, as in block 420. The one or more processors can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, one or more of an EDT failure indicator or the resume ID, as in block 430. In addition, the eNB can comprise a memory interface configured to store the msg4 in a memory.

Another example provides functionality 500 of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, as shown in FIG. 5 . The eNB can comprise one or more processors. The one or more processors can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC), as in block 510. The one or more processors can be configured to determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE, as in block 520. The one or more processors can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, an X2 application protocol (AP) (X2-AP) UE context release message after the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE has been determined, as in block 530. In addition, the eNB can comprise a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.

Another example provides functionality 600 of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, as shown in FIG. 6 . The eNB can comprise one or more processors. The one or more processors can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC), as in block 610. The one or more processors can be configured to determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE, as in block 620. The one or more processors can be configured to encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, an X2 application protocol (AP) path switch request message based on the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE, as in block 630. In addition, the eNB can comprise a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.

While examples have been provided in which an eNB has been specified, they are not intended to be limiting. An evolved node B (eNB), a next generation node B (gNB), a new radio node B (gNB), or a new radio base station (NR BS) can be used in place of an eNB. Accordingly, unless otherwise stated, any example herein in which an eNB has been disclosed, can similarly be disclosed with the use of an eNB, gNB, or new radio base station (NR BS).

FIG. 7 illustrates an example architecture of a system 700 of a network, in accordance with various embodiments. The following description is provided for an example system 700 that operates in conjunction with the LTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards as provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this regard and the described embodiments may apply to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), or the like.

As shown by FIG. 7 , the system 700 includes UE 701 a and UE 701 b (collectively referred to as “UEs 701” or “UE 701”). In this example, UEs 701 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but may also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as consumer electronics devices, cellular phones, smartphones, feature phones, tablet computers, wearable computer devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handsets, desktop computers, laptop computers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-car entertainment (ICE) devices, an Instrument Cluster (IC), head-up display (HUD) devices, onboard diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDTs), Electronic Engine Management System (EEMS), electronic/engine control units (ECUs), electronic/engine control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or “smart” appliances, MTC devices, M2M, IoT devices, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, any of the UEs 701 may be IoT UEs, which may comprise a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. An IoT UE can utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a PLMN, ProSe or D2D communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network describes interconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the IoT network.

The UEs 701 may be configured to connect, for example, communicatively couple, with an or RAN 710. In embodiments, the RAN 710 may be an NG RAN or a 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as a UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term “NG RAN” or the like may refer to a RAN 710 that operates in an NR or 5G system 700, and the term “E-UTRAN” or the like may refer to a RAN 710 that operates in an LTE or 4G system 700. The UEs 701 utilize connections (or channels) 703 and 704, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below).

In this example, the connections 703 and 704 are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and/or any of the other communications protocols discussed herein. In embodiments, the UEs 701 may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 705. The ProSe interface 705 may alternatively be referred to as a SL interface 705 and may comprise one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a PSCCH, a PSSCH, a PSDCH, and a PSBCH.

The UE 701 b is shown to be configured to access an AP 706 (also referred to as “WLAN node 706,” “WLAN 706,” “WLAN Termination 706,” “WT 706” or the like) via connection 707. The connection 707 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 706 would comprise a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router. In this example, the AP 706 is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, the UE 701 b, RAN 710, and AP 706 may be configured to utilize LWA operation and/or LWIP operation. The LWA operation may involve the UE 701 b in RRC_CONNECTED being configured by a RAN node 711 a-b to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve the UE 701 b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 707) via IPsec protocol tunneling to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over the connection 707. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entirety of original IP packets and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packets.

The RAN 710 can include one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes 711 a and 711 b (collectively referred to as “RAN nodes 711” or “RAN node 711”) that enable the connections 703 and 704. As used herein, the terms “access node,” “access point,” or the like may describe equipment that provides the radio baseband functions for data and/or voice connectivity between a network and one or more users. These access nodes can be referred to as BS, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs, TRxPs or TRPs, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the term “NG RAN node” or the like may refer to a RAN node 711 that operates in an NR or 5G system 700 (for example, a gNB), and the term “E-UTRAN node” or the like may refer to a RAN node 711 that operates in an LTE or 4G system 700 (e.g., an eNB). According to various embodiments, the RAN nodes 711 may be implemented as one or more of a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell base station, and/or a low power (LP) base station for providing femtocells, picocells or other like cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells.

In some embodiments, all or parts of the RAN nodes 711 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN and/or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement a RAN function split, such as a PDCP split wherein RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes 711; a MAC/PHY split wherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 711; or a “lower PHY” split wherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers and upper portions of the PHY layer are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and lower portions of the PHY layer are operated by individual RAN nodes 711. This virtualized framework allows the freed-up processor cores of the RAN nodes 711 to perform other virtualized applications. In some implementations, an individual RAN node 711 may represent individual gNB-DUs that are connected to a gNB-CU via individual F1 interfaces (not shown by FIG. 7 ). In these implementations, the gNB-DUs may include one or more remote radio heads or RFEMs, and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server that is located in the RAN 710 (not shown) or by a server pool in a similar manner as the CRAN/vBBUP. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes 711 may be next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs), which are RAN nodes that provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations toward the UEs 701, and are connected to a 5GC via an NG interface (discussed infra).

In V2X scenarios one or more of the RAN nodes 711 may be or act as RSUs. The term “Road Side Unit” or “RSU” may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, where an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU,” and the like. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on a roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs 701 (vUEs 701). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry to store intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, as well as applications/software to sense and control ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct Short Range Communications (DSRC) band to provide very low latency communications required for high speed events, such as crash avoidance, traffic warnings, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low latency communications, as well as other cellular communications services. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and/or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. The computing device(s) and some or all of the radiofrequency circuitry of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and/or a backhaul network.

Any of the RAN nodes 711 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 701. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 711 can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 710 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

In embodiments, the UEs 701 can be configured to communicate using OFDM communication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 711 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an OFDMA communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a SC-FDMA communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 711 to the UEs 701, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

According to various embodiments, the UEs 701 and the RAN nodes 711 communicate data (for example, transmit and receive) data over a licensed medium (also referred to as the “licensed spectrum” and/or the “licensed band”) and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as the “unlicensed spectrum” and/or the “unlicensed band”). The licensed spectrum may include channels that operate in the frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, whereas the unlicensed spectrum may include the 5 GHz band.

To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UEs 701 and the RAN nodes 711 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, the UEs 701 and the RAN nodes 711 may perform one or more known medium-sensing operations and/or carrier-sensing operations in order to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum is unavailable or otherwise occupied prior to transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium/carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

LBT is a mechanism whereby equipment (for example, UEs 701 RAN nodes 711, etc.) senses a medium (for example, a channel or carrier frequency) and transmits when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a specific channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine the presence or absence of other signals on a channel in order to determine if a channel is occupied or clear. This LBT mechanism allows cellular/LAA networks to coexist with incumbent systems in the unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy across an intended transmission band for a period of time and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

Typically, the incumbent systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technologies. WLAN employs a contention-based channel access mechanism, called CSMA/CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 701, AP 706, or the like) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission. Additionally, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions in situations where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits at the same time. The backoff mechanism may be a counter that is drawn randomly within the CWS, which is increased exponentially upon the occurrence of collision and reset to a minimum value when the transmission succeeds. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA/CA of WLAN. In some implementations, the LBT procedure for DL or UL transmission bursts including PDSCH or PUSCH transmissions, respectively, may have an LAA contention window that is variable in length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are minimum and maximum values for the CWSs for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for an LAA transmission may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and a MCOT (for example, a transmission burst) may be based on governmental regulatory requirements.

The LAA mechanisms are built upon CA technologies of LTE-Advanced systems. In CA, each aggregated carrier is referred to as a CC. A CC may have a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz and a maximum of five CCs can be aggregated, and therefore, a maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In FDD systems, the number of aggregated carriers can be different for DL and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lower than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, individual CCs can have a different bandwidth than other CCs. In TDD systems, the number of CCs as well as the bandwidths of each CC is usually the same for DL and UL.

CA also comprises individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells may differ, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different pathloss. A primary service cell or PCell may provide a PCC for both UL and DL, and may handle RRC and NAS related activities. The other serving cells are referred to as SCells, and each SCell may provide an individual SCC for both UL and DL. The SCCs may be added and removed as required, while changing the PCC may require the UE 701 to undergo a handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in the unlicensed spectrum (referred to as “LAA SCells”), and the LAA SCells are assisted by a PCell operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells indicating different PUSCH starting positions within a same subframe.

The PDSCH carries user data and higher-layer signaling to the UEs 701. The PDCCH carries information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs 701 about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 701 b within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 711 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 701. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 701.

The PDCCH uses CCEs to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as REGs. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the DCI and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an extension of the above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more ECCEs. Similar to above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an EREGs. An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

The RAN nodes 711 may be configured to communicate with one another via interface 712. In embodiments where the system 700 is an LTE system, the interface 712 may be an X2 interface 712. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 711 (e.g., two or more eNBs and the like) that connect to EPC 720, and/or between two eNBs connecting to EPC 720. In some implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provide flow control mechanisms for user data packets transferred over the X2 interface, and may be used to communicate information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information for user data transferred from a MeNB to an SeNB; information about successful in sequence delivery of PDCP PDUs to a UE 701 from an SeNB for user data; information of PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to a UE 701; information about a current minimum desired buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting to the UE user data; and the like. The X2-C may provide intra-LTE access mobility functionality, including context transfers from source to target eNBs, user plane transport control, etc.; load management functionality; as well as inter-cell interference coordination functionality.

In embodiments where the system 700 is a 5G or NR system, the interface 712 may be an Xn interface 712. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 711 (e.g., two or more gNBs and the like) that connect to 5GC 720, between a RAN node 711 (e.g., a gNB) connecting to 5GC 720 and an eNB, and/or between two eNBs connecting to 5GC 720. In some implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support/provide data forwarding and flow control functionality. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functionality, functionality to manage the Xn-C interface; mobility support for UE 701 in a connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) including functionality to manage the UE mobility for connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 711. The mobility support may include context transfer from an old (source) serving RAN node 711 to new (target) serving RAN node 711; and control of user plane tunnels between old (source) serving RAN node 711 to new (target) serving RAN node 711. A protocol stack of the Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of a UDP and/or IP layer(s) to carry user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer that is built on SCTP. The SCTP may be on top of an IP layer, and may provide the guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver the signaling PDUs. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and/or the Xn-C protocol stack may be same or similar to the user plane and/or control plane protocol stack(s) shown and described herein.

The RAN 710 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network—in this embodiment, core network (CN) 720. The CN 720 may comprise a plurality of network elements 722, which are configured to offer various data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 701) who are connected to the CN 720 via the RAN 710. The components of the CN 720 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes including components to read and execute instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the above-described network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage mediums (described in further detail below). A logical instantiation of the CN 720 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 720 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architectures and infrastructures may be used to virtualize one or more network functions, alternatively performed by proprietary hardware, onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches. In other words, NFV systems can be used to execute virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPC components/functions.

Generally, the application server 730 may be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 730 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 701 via the EPC 720.

In embodiments, the CN 720 may be a 5GC (referred to as “5GC 720” or the like), and the RAN 710 may be connected with the CN 720 via an NG interface 713. In embodiments, the NG interface 713 may be split into two parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 714, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 711 and a UPF, and the S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 715, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 711 and AMFs.

In embodiments, the CN 720 may be a 5G CN (referred to as “5GC 720” or the like), while in other embodiments, the CN 720 may be an EPC). Where CN 720 is an EPC (referred to as “EPC 720” or the like), the RAN 710 may be connected with the CN 720 via an S1 interface 713. In embodiments, the S1 interface 713 may be split into two parts, an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 714, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 711 and the S-GW, and the S1-MME interface 715, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 711 and MMEs.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a platform 800 (or “device 800”) in accordance with various embodiments. In embodiments, the computer platform 800 may be suitable for use as UEs 701, application servers 730, and/or any other element/device discussed herein. The platform 800 may include any combinations of the components shown in the example. The components of platform 800 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform 800, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. The block diagram of FIG. 8 is intended to show a high level view of components of the computer platform 800. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangement of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

Application circuitry 805 includes circuitry such as, but not limited to one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of LDOs, interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I²C or universal programmable serial interface module, RTC, timer-counters including interval and watchdog timers, general purpose I/O, memory card controllers such as SD MMC or similar, USB interfaces, MIPI interfaces, and JTAG test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the application circuitry 805 may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elements and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the platform 800. In some implementations, the memory/storage elements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

The processor(s) of application circuitry may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSP, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, a multithreaded processor, an ultra-low voltage processor, an embedded processor, some other known processing element, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuitry may comprise, or may be, a special-purpose processor/controller to operate according to the various embodiments herein.

As examples, the processor(s) of application circuitry 805 may include an Intel® Architecture Core™ based processor, such as a Quark™, an Atom™, an i3, an i5, an i7, or an MCU-class processor, or another such processor available from Intel® Corporation, Santa Clara, CA The processors of the application circuitry 805 may also be one or more of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s) or Accelerated Processing Units (APUs); A5-A9 processor(s) from Apple® Inc., Snapdragon™ processor(s) from Qualcomm® Technologies, Inc., Texas Instruments, Inc.® Open Multimedia Applications Platform (OMAP)™ processor(s); a MIPS-based design from MIPS Technologies, Inc. such as MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; an ARM-based design licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M family of processors; or the like. In some implementations, the application circuitry 805 may be a part of a system on a chip (SoC) in which the application circuitry 805 and other components are formed into a single integrated circuit, or a single package, such as the Edison™ or Galileo™ SoC boards from Intel® Corporation.

Additionally or alternatively, application circuitry 805 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more a field-programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs and the like; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry 805 may comprise logic blocks or logic fabric, and other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry 805 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuses, etc.)) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc. in look-up tables (LUTs) and the like.

The baseband circuitry 810 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. The various hardware electronic elements of baseband circuitry 810 are discussed infra with regard to FIG. 9 .

The RFEMs 815 may comprise a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mmWave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see e.g., antenna array 911 of FIG. 9 infra), and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-mmWave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical RFEM 815, which incorporates both mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave.

The memory circuitry 820 may include any number and type of memory devices used to provide for a given amount of system memory. As examples, the memory circuitry 820 may include one or more of volatile memory including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and/or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuitry 820 may be developed in accordance with a Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council (JEDEC) low power double data rate (LPDDR)-based design, such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, or the like. Memory circuitry 820 may be implemented as one or more of solder down packaged integrated circuits, single die package (SDP), dual die package (DDP) or quad die package (Q17P), socketed memory modules, dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) including microDIMMs or MiniDIMMs, and/or soldered onto a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In low power implementations, the memory circuitry 820 may be on-die memory or registers associated with the application circuitry 805. To provide for persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems and so forth, memory circuitry 820 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, inter alia, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, resistance change memories, phase change memories, holographic memories, or chemical memories, among others. For example, the computer platform 800 may incorporate the three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® and Micron®.

Removable memory circuitry 823 may include devices, circuitry, enclosures/housings, ports or receptacles, etc. used to couple portable data storage devices with the platform 800. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage purposes, and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, microSD cards, xD picture cards, and the like), and USB flash drives, optical discs, external HDDs, and the like.

The platform 800 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) that is used to connect external devices with the platform 800. The external devices connected to the platform 800 via the interface circuitry include sensor circuitry 821 and electro-mechanical components (EMCs) 822, as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memory circuitry 823.

The sensor circuitry 821 include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information (sensor data) about the detected events to some other a device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, inter alia, inertia measurement units (IMUs) comprising accelerometers, gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) comprising 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures); light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detector and the like), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other like audio capture devices; etc.

EMCs 822 include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to enable platform 800 to change its state, position, and/or orientation, or move or control a mechanism or (sub)system. Additionally, EMCs 822 may be configured to generate and send messages/signalling to other components of the platform 800 to indicate a current state of the EMCs 822. Examples of the EMCs 822 include one or more power switches, relays including electromechanical relays (EMRs) and/or solid state relays (SSRs), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), an audible sound generator, a visual warning device, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks, and/or other like electro-mechanical components. In embodiments, platform 800 is configured to operate one or more EMCs 822 based on one or more captured events and/or instructions or control signals received from a service provider and/or various clients.

In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect the platform 800 with positioning circuitry 845. The positioning circuitry 845 includes circuitry to receive and decode signals transmitted/broadcasted by a positioning network of a GNSS. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, a regional navigation system or GNSS augmentation system (e.g., NAVIC), Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.), or the like. The positioning circuitry 845 comprises various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, and the like to facilitate OTA communications) to communicate with components of a positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuitry 845 may include a Micro-PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking/estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuitry 845 may also be part of, or interact with, the baseband circuitry and/or RFEMs 815 to communicate with the nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuitry 845 may also provide position data and/or time data to the application circuitry 805, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., radio base stations), for turn-by-turn navigation applications, or the like

In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect the platform 800 with Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuitry 840. NFC circuitry 840 is configured to provide contactless, short-range communications based on radio frequency identification (RFID) standards, wherein magnetic field induction is used to enable communication between NFC circuitry 840 and NFC-enabled devices external to the platform 800 (e.g., an “NFC touchpoint”). NFC circuitry 840 comprises an NFC controller coupled with an antenna element and a processor coupled with the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip/IC providing NFC functionalities to the NFC circuitry 840 by executing NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to emit short-range RF signals. The RF signals may power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transmit stored data to the NFC circuitry 840, or initiate data transfer between the NFC circuitry 840 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) that is proximate to the platform 800.

The driver circuitry 846 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control particular devices that are embedded in the platform 800, attached to the platform 800, or otherwise communicatively coupled with the platform 800. The driver circuitry 846 may include individual drivers allowing other components of the platform 800 to interact with or control various input/output (I/O) devices that may be present within, or connected to, the platform 800. For example, driver circuitry 846 may include a display driver to control and allow access to a display device, a touchscreen driver to control and allow access to a touchscreen interface of the platform 800, sensor drivers to obtain sensor readings of sensor circuitry 821 and control and allow access to sensor circuitry 821, EMC drivers to obtain actuator positions of the EMCs 822 and/or control and allow access to the EMCs 822, a camera driver to control and allow access to an embedded image capture device, audio drivers to control and allow access to one or more audio devices.

The power management integrated circuitry (PMIC) 825 (also referred to as “power management circuitry 825”) may manage power provided to various components of the platform 800. In particular, with respect to the baseband circuitry 810, the PMIC 825 may control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMIC 825 may often be included when the platform 800 is capable of being powered by a battery 830, for example, when the device is included in a UE 701.

In some embodiments, the PMIC 825 may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the platform 800. For example, if the platform 800 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the platform 800 may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the platform 800 may transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The platform 800 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The platform 800 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC_Connected state. An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.

A battery 830 may power the platform 800, although in some examples the platform 800 may be mounted deployed in a fixed location, and may have a power supply coupled to an electrical grid. The battery 830 may be a lithium ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, and the like. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 830 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

In some implementations, the battery 830 may be a “smart battery,” which includes or is coupled with a Battery Management System (BMS) or battery monitoring integrated circuitry. The BMS may be included in the platform 800 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 830. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 830 to provide failure predictions, such as the state of health (SoH) and the state of function (SoF) of the battery 830. The BMS may communicate the information of the battery 830 to the application circuitry 805 or other components of the platform 800. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) convertor that allows the application circuitry 805 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 830 or the current flow from the battery 830. The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform 800 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, and the like.

A power block, or other power supply coupled to an electrical grid may be coupled with the BMS to charge the battery 830. In some examples, the power block may be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain the power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform 800. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit may be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuits chosen may depend on the size of the battery 830, and thus, the current required. The charging may be performed using the Airfuel standard promulgated by the Airfuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard promulgated by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence charging standard promulgated by the Alliance for Wireless Power, among others.

User interface circuitry 850 includes various input/output (I/O) devices present within, or connected to, the platform 800, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the platform 800 and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the platform 800. The user interface circuitry 850 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting an input including, inter alia, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphones, scanner, headset, and/or the like. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for showing information or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator position(s), or other like information. Output device circuitry may include any number and/or combinations of audio or visual display, including, inter alia, one or more simple visual outputs/indicators (e.g., binary status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., Liquid Chrystal Displays (LCD), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), with the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, and the like being generated or produced from the operation of the platform 800. The output device circuitry may also include speakers or other audio emitting devices, printer(s), and/or the like. In some embodiments, the sensor circuitry 821 may be used as the input device circuitry (e.g., an image capture device, motion capture device, or the like) and one or more EMCs may be used as the output device circuitry (e.g., an actuator to provide haptic feedback or the like). In another example, NFC circuitry comprising an NFC controller coupled with an antenna element and a processing device may be included to read electronic tags and/or connect with another NFC-enabled device. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, etc.

Although not shown, the components of platform 800 may communicate with one another using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which may include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx, PCIe, a Time-Trigger Protocol (ITP) system, a FlexRay system, or any number of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietary bus/IX, for example, used in a SoC based system. Other bus/IX systems may be included, such as an I²C interface, an SPI interface, point-to-point interfaces, and a power bus, among others.

FIG. 9 illustrates example components of baseband circuitry 910 and radio front end modules (RFEM) 915 in accordance with various embodiments. The baseband circuitry 910 corresponds to the baseband circuitry 810 of FIG. 8 , respectively. The RFEM 915 corresponds to the RFEM 815 of FIG. 8 , respectively. As shown, the RFEMs 915 may include Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 906, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 908, antenna array 911 coupled together at least as shown.

The baseband circuitry 910 includes circuitry and/or control logic configured to carry out various radio/network protocol and radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 906. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 910 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 910 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments. The baseband circuitry 910 is configured to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 906 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 906. The baseband circuitry 910 is configured to interface with application circuitry 805 (see FIG. 8 ) for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 906. The baseband circuitry 910 may handle various radio control functions.

The aforementioned circuitry and/or control logic of the baseband circuitry 910 may include one or more single or multi-core processors. For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G baseband processor 904A, a 4G/LTE baseband processor 904B, a 5G/NR baseband processor 904C, or some other baseband processor(s) 904D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., sixth generation (6G), etc.). In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 904A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 904G and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 904E. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 904A-D may be provided as hardware accelerators (e.g., FPGAs, ASICs, etc.) loaded with the appropriate bit streams or logic blocks stored in respective memory cells. In various embodiments, the memory 904G may store program code of a real-time OS (RTOS), which when executed by the CPU 904E (or other baseband processor), is to cause the CPU 904E (or other baseband processor) to manage resources of the baseband circuitry 910, schedule tasks, etc. Examples of the RTOS may include Operating System Embedded (OSE)™ provided by Enea®, Nucleus RTOS™ provided by Mentor Graphics®, Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Mentor Graphics®, ThreadX™ provided by Express Logic®, FreeRTOS, REX OS provided by Qualcomm®, OKL4 provided by Open Kernel (OK) Labs®, or any other suitable RTOS, such as those discussed herein. In addition, the baseband circuitry 910 includes one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 904F. The audio DSP(s) 904F include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, each of the processors 904A-904E include respective memory interfaces to send/receive data to/from the memory 904G. The baseband circuitry 910 may further include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as an interface to send/receive data to/from memory external to the baseband circuitry 910; an application circuitry interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 805 of FIG. 9 ); an RF circuitry interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 906 of FIG. 9 ; a wireless hardware connectivity interface to send/receive data to/from one or more wireless hardware elements (e.g., Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®/Bluetooth® Low Energy components, Wi-Fi® components, and/or the like); and a power management interface to send/receive power or control signals to/from the PMIC 825.

In alternate embodiments (which may be combined with the above described embodiments), baseband circuitry 910 comprises one or more digital baseband systems, which are coupled with one another via an interconnect subsystem and to a CPU subsystem, an audio subsystem, and an interface subsystem. The digital baseband subsystems may also be coupled to a digital baseband interface and a mixed-signal baseband subsystem via another interconnect subsystem. Each of the interconnect subsystems may include a bus system, point-to-point connections, network-on-chip (NOC) structures, and/or some other suitable bus or interconnect technology, such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include DSP circuitry, buffer memory, program memory, speech processing accelerator circuitry, data converter circuitry such as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converter circuitry, analog circuitry including one or more of amplifiers and filters, and/or other like components. In an aspect of the present disclosure, baseband circuitry 910 may include protocol processing circuitry with one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuitry and/or radio frequency circuitry (e.g., the radio front end modules 915).

Although not shown by FIG. 9 , in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 910 includes individual processing device(s) to operate one or more wireless communication protocols (e.g., a “multi-protocol baseband processor” or “protocol processing circuitry”) and individual processing device(s) to implement PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, the PHY layer functions include the aforementioned radio control functions. In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry operates or implements various protocol layers/entities of one or more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, the protocol processing circuitry may operate LTE protocol entities and/or 5G/NR protocol entities when the baseband circuitry 910 and/or RF circuitry 906 are part of mmWave communication circuitry or some other suitable cellular communication circuitry. In the first example, the protocol processing circuitry would operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. In a second example, the protocol processing circuitry may operate one or more IEEE-based protocols when the baseband circuitry 910 and/or RF circuitry 906 are part of a Wi-Fi communication system. In the second example, the protocol processing circuitry would operate Wi-Fi MAC and logical link control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuitry may include one or more memory structures (e.g., 904G) to store program code and data for operating the protocol functions, as well as one or more processing cores to execute the program code and perform various operations using the data. The baseband circuitry 910 may also support radio communications for more than one wireless protocol.

The various hardware elements of the baseband circuitry 910 discussed herein may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single packaged IC soldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing two or more ICs. In one example, the components of the baseband circuitry 910 may be suitably combined in a single chip or chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board. In another example, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 910 and RF circuitry 906 may be implemented together such as, for example, a system on a chip (SoC) or System-in-Package (SiP). In another example, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 910 may be implemented as a separate SoC that is communicatively coupled with and RF circuitry 906 (or multiple instances of RF circuitry 906). In yet another example, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 910 and the application circuitry 805 may be implemented together as individual SoCs mounted to a same circuit board (e.g., a “multi-chip package”).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 910 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 910 may support communication with an E-UTRAN or other WMAN, a WLAN, a WPAN. Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 910 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 906 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 906 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 906 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 908 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 910. RF circuitry 906 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 910 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 908 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 906 may include mixer circuitry 906 a, amplifier circuitry 906 b and filter circuitry 906 c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 906 may include filter circuitry 906 c and mixer circuitry 906 a. RF circuitry 906 may also include synthesizer circuitry 906 d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 906 a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906 a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 908 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 906 d. The amplifier circuitry 906 b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 906 c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 910 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 906 a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906 a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 906 d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 908. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 910 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 906 c.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 906 a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 906 a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 906 a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 906 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 906 a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 906 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 910 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 906.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 906 d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 906 d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 906 d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 906 a of the RF circuitry 906 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 906 d may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 910 or the application circuitry 805 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the application circuitry 805.

Synthesizer circuitry 906 d of the RF circuitry 906 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 906 d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 906 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 908 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from antenna array 911, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 906 for further processing. FEM circuitry 908 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 906 for transmission by one or more of antenna elements of antenna array 911. In various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be done solely in the RF circuitry 906, solely in the FEM circuitry 908, or in both the RF circuitry 906 and the FEM circuitry 908.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 908 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 908 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 908 may include an LNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 906). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 908 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 906), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission by one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 911.

The antenna array 911 comprises one or more antenna elements, each of which is configured convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and to convert received radio waves into electrical signals. For example, digital baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 910 is converted into analog RF signals (e.g., modulated waveform) that will be amplified and transmitted via the antenna elements of the antenna array 911 including one or more antenna elements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional, direction, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may be formed in a multitude of arranges as are known and/or discussed herein. The antenna array 911 may comprise microstrip antennas or printed antennas that are fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. The antenna array 911 may be formed in as a patch of metal foil (e.g., a patch antenna) in a variety of shapes, and may be coupled with the RF circuitry 906 and/or FEM circuitry 908 using metal transmission lines or the like.

Processors of the application circuitry 805 and processors of the baseband circuitry 910 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry 910, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry 805 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., TCP and UDP layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a RRC layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a MAC layer, an RLC layer, and a PDCP layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a PHY layer of a UE/RAN node, described in further detail below.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 10 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1000 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1010, one or more memory/storage devices 1020, and one or more communication resources 1030, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1040. For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1002 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1000.

The processors 1010 may include, for example, a processor 1012 and a processor 1014. The processor(s) 1010 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

The memory/storage devices 1020 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices 1020 may include, but are not limited to, any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

The communication resources 1030 may include interconnection or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1004 or one or more databases 1006 via a network 1008. For example, the communication resources 1030 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components.

Instructions 1050 may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 1010 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 1050 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 1010 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), the memory/storage devices 1020, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 1050 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1000 from any combination of the peripheral devices 1004 or the databases 1006. Accordingly, the memory of processors 1010, the memory/storage devices 1020, the peripheral devices 1004, and the databases 1006 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

FIG. 11 provides an example illustration of the wireless device, such as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile wireless device, a mobile communication device, a tablet, a handset, or other type of wireless device. The wireless device can include one or more antennas configured to communicate with a node, macro node, low power node (LPN), or, transmission station, such as a base station (BS), an evolved Node B (eNB), a baseband processing unit (BBU), a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio equipment (RRE), a relay station (RS), a radio equipment (RE), or other type of wireless wide area network (WWAN) access point. The wireless device can be configured to communicate using at least one wireless communication standard such as, but not limited to, 3GPP LTE, WiMAX, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Bluetooth, and WiFi. The wireless device can communicate using separate antennas for each wireless communication standard or shared antennas for multiple wireless communication standards. The wireless device can communicate in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), and/or a WWAN. The wireless device can also comprise a wireless modem. The wireless modem can comprise, for example, a wireless radio transceiver and baseband circuitry (e.g., a baseband processor). The wireless modem can, in one example, modulate signals that the wireless device transmits via the one or more antennas and demodulate signals that the wireless device receives via the one or more antennas.

FIG. 11 also provides an illustration of a microphone and one or more speakers that can be used for audio input and output from the wireless device. The display screen can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, or other type of display screen such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. The display screen can be configured as a touch screen. The touch screen can use capacitive, resistive, or another type of touch screen technology. An application processor and a graphics processor can be coupled to internal memory to provide processing and display capabilities. A non-volatile memory port can also be used to provide data input/output options to a user. The non-volatile memory port can also be used to expand the memory capabilities of the wireless device. A keyboard can be integrated with the wireless device or wirelessly connected to the wireless device to provide additional user input. A virtual keyboard can also be provided using the touch screen.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example architecture of a system 1200 including a first CN 1220, in accordance with various embodiments. In this example, system 1200 may implement the LTE standard wherein the CN 1220 is an EPC 1220 that corresponds with CN 720 of FIG. 7 . Additionally, the UE 1201 may be the same or similar as the UEs 701 of FIG. 7 , and the E-UTRAN 1210 may be a RAN that is the same or similar to the RAN 710 of FIG. 7 , and which may include RAN nodes 711 discussed previously. The CN 1220 may comprise MMEs 1221, an S-GW 1222, a P-GW 1223, a HSS 1224, and a SGSN 1225.

The MMEs 1221 may be similar in function to the control plane of legacy SGSN, and may implement MM functions to keep track of the current location of a UE 1201. The MMEs 1221 may perform various MM procedures to manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. MM (also referred to as “EPS MM” or “EMM” in E-UTRAN systems) may refer to all applicable procedures, methods, data storage, etc. that are used to maintain knowledge about a present location of the UE 1201, provide user identity confidentiality, and/or perform other like services to users/subscribers. Each UE 1201 and the MME 1221 may include an MM or EMM sublayer, and an MM context may be established in the UE 1201 and the MME 1221 when an attach procedure is successfully completed. The MM context may be a data structure or database object that stores MM-related information of the UE 1201. The MMEs 1221 may be coupled with the HSS 1224 via an S6a reference point, coupled with the SGSN 1225 via an S3 reference point, and coupled with the S-GW 1222 via an S11 reference point.

The SGSN 1225 may be a node that serves the UE 1201 by tracking the location of an individual UE 1201 and performing security functions. In addition, the SGSN 1225 may perform Inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between 2G/3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by the MMEs 1221; handling of UE 1201 time zone functions as specified by the MMEs 1221; and MME selection for handovers to E-UTRAN 3GPP access network. The S3 reference point between the MMEs 1221 and the SGSN 1225 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle and/or active states.

The HSS 1224 may comprise a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The EPC 1220 may comprise one or several HSSs 1224, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 1224 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 1224 and the MMEs 1221 may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to the EPC 1220 between HSS 1224 and the MMEs 1221.

The S-GW 1222 may terminate the S1 interface 713 (“S1-U” in FIG. 12 ) toward the RAN 1210, and routes data packets between the RAN 1210 and the EPC 1220. In addition, the S-GW 1222 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. The S11 reference point between the S-GW 1222 and the MMEs 1221 may provide a control plane between the MMEs 1221 and the S-GW 1222. The S-GW 1222 may be coupled with the P-GW 1223 via an S5 reference point.

The P-GW 1223 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN 1230. The P-GW 1223 may route data packets between the EPC 1220 and external networks such as a network including the application server 730 (alternatively referred to as an “AF”) via an IP interface 725 (see e.g., FIG. 7 ). In embodiments, the P-GW 1223 may be communicatively coupled to an application server (application server 730 of FIG. 7 or PDN 1230 in FIG. 12 ) via an IP communications interface 725 (see, e.g., FIG. 7 ). The S5 reference point between the P-GW 1223 and the S-GW 1222 may provide user plane tunneling and tunnel management between the P-GW 1223 and the S-GW 1222. The S5 reference point may also be used for S-GW 1222 relocation due to UE 1201 mobility and if the S-GW 1222 needs to connect to a non-collocated P-GW 1223 for the required PDN connectivity. The P-GW 1223 may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (e.g., PCEF (not shown)). Additionally, the SGi reference point between the P-GW 1223 and the packet data network (PDN) 1230 may be an operator external public, a private PDN, or an intra operator packet data network, for example, for provision of IMS services. The P-GW 1223 may be coupled with a PCRF 1226 via a Gx reference point.

PCRF 1226 is the policy and charging control element of the EPC 1220. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF 1226 in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE 1201's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE 1201's IP-CAN session, a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within an HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 1226 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 1230 via the P-GW 1223. The application server 1230 may signal the PCRF 1226 to indicate a new service flow and select the appropriate QoS and charging parameters. The PCRF 1226 may provision this rule into a PCEF (not shown) with the appropriate TFT and QCI, which commences the QoS and charging as specified by the application server 1230. The Gx reference point between the PCRF 1226 and the P-GW 1223 may allow for the transfer of QoS policy and charging rules from the PCRF 1226 to PCEF in the P-GW 1223. An Rx reference point may reside between the PDN 1230 (or “AF 1230”) and the PCRF 1226.

For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section.

EXAMPLES

The following examples pertain to specific technology embodiments and point out specific features, elements, or actions that can be used or otherwise combined in achieving such embodiments.

Example 1 includes an apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC); determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE; and encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, one or more of an EDT failure indicator or the resume ID; and a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.

Example 2 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, one or more of the EDT failure indicator or the resume ID when an X2 application protocol (X2-AP) UE context release message is transmitted to the previous eNB of the UE after a transmission of the Msg4 to the UE.

Example 3 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, one or more of an EDT failure indicator or the resume ID when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is unsuccessful.

Example 4 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the EDT failure indicator via an X2 application protocol (X2-AP) message.

Example 5 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the resume ID via an X2 application protocol (X2-AP) retrieve UE context request message.

Example 6 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: decode, at the eNB for transmission to the UE, an X2 application protocol (X2-AP) retrieve UE context response message including a previous EDT failure indication without UE context.

Example 7 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the UE, a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup in the Msg4 to initiate an RRC connection between the eNB and the UE.

Example 8 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 7, wherein Msg4 is a radio resource control (RRC) Connection Release message.

Example 9 includes an apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC); determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE; and encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, an X2 application protocol (AP) (X2-AP) UE context release message after the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE has been determined; and a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.

Example 10 includes the apparatus of Example 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: decode, at the eNB, a previous resume ID and a previous NCC received from the previous eNB of the UE; verify, at the eNB, the previous resume ID and the previous NCC; and encode, at the eNB for transmission to a next eNB of the UE, an X2-AP retrieve UE context response.

Example 11 includes the apparatus of Example 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the X2-AP UE context release message when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is successful.

Example 12 includes the apparatus of Example 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the X2-AP UE context release message when: the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is unsuccessful, and the UE resumes with the eNB.

Example 13 includes the apparatus of Example 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the X2-AP UE context release message that includes an indication that the previous eNB of the UE forward a resumption request from a next eNB of the UE to the eNB.

Example 14 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 9 to 13, wherein Msg4 is a radio resource control (RRC) Connection Release message.

Example 15 includes an apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC); determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE; and encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, an X2 application protocol (AP) path switch request message based on the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE; and a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.

Example 16 includes the apparatus of Example 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the X2-AP path switch request message when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is unsuccessful.

Example 17 includes the apparatus of Example 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: decode, at the eNB, an X2-AP path switch response message received from the previous eNB of the UE when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is unsuccessful.

Example 18 includes the apparatus of Example 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, an X2-AP UE context release message when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is successful.

Example 19 includes the apparatus of Example 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to a mobility management entity (MME), an S1-AP path switch request; or decode, at the eNB, an S1-AP path switch request acknowledgement (ACK) received from the MME; or decode, at the eNB, an S1 suspend procedure received from the MME.

Example 20 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 15 to 19, wherein Msg4 is a radio resource control (RRC) Connection Release message.

Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, compact disc-read-only memory (CD-ROMs), hard drives, non-transitory computer readable storage medium, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques. In the case of program code execution on programmable computers, the computing device may include a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements may be a random-access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), flash drive, optical drive, magnetic hard drive, solid state drive, or other medium for storing electronic data. The node and wireless device may also include a transceiver module (i.e., transceiver), a counter module (i.e., counter), a processing module (i.e., processor), and/or a clock module (i.e., clock) or timer module (i.e., timer). In one example, selected components of the transceiver module can be located in a cloud radio access network (C-RAN). One or more programs that may implement or utilize the various techniques described herein may use an application programming interface (API), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs may be implemented in a high level procedural or object oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) may be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

It should be understood that many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom very-large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like.

Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified module of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module may not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.

Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. The modules may be passive or active, including agents operable to perform desired functions.

Reference throughout this specification to “an example” or “exemplary” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one embodiment of the present technology. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in an example” or the word “exemplary” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary. In addition, various embodiments and example of the present technology may be referred to herein along with alternatives for the various components thereof. It is understood that such embodiments, examples, and alternatives are not to be construed as defacto equivalents of one another, but are to be considered as separate and autonomous representations of the present technology.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of layouts, distances, network examples, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the technology. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the technology can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, layouts, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the technology.

While the forgoing examples are illustrative of the principles of the present technology in one or more particular applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications in form, usage and details of implementation can be made without the exercise of inventive faculty, and without departing from the principles and concepts of the technology. Accordingly, it is not intended that the technology be limited, except as by the claims set forth below. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC); determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE; and encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, one or more of an EDT failure indicator or the resume ID; and a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, one or more of the EDT failure indicator or the resume ID when an X2 application protocol (X2-AP) UE context release message is transmitted to the previous eNB of the UE after a transmission of the Msg4 to the UE.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, one or more of an EDT failure indicator or the resume ID when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is unsuccessful.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the EDT failure indicator via an X2 application protocol (X2-AP) message.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the resume ID via an X2 application protocol (X2-AP) retrieve UE context request message.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: decode, at the eNB for transmission to the UE, an X2 application protocol (X2-AP) retrieve UE context response message including a previous EDT failure indication without UE context.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the UE, a radio resource control (RRC) connection setup in the Msg4 to initiate an RRC connection between the eNB and the UE.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the Msg4 is a radio resource control (RRC) Connection Release message.
 9. An apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC); determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE; and encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, an X2 application protocol (AP) (X2-AP) UE context release message after the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE has been determined; and a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: decode, at the eNB, a previous resume ID and a previous NCC received from the previous eNB of the UE; verify, at the eNB, the previous resume ID and the previous NCC; and encode, at the eNB for transmission to a next eNB of the UE, an X2-AP retrieve UE context response.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the X2-AP UE context release message when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is successful.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the X2-AP UE context release message when: the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is unsuccessful, and the UE resumes with the eNB.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the X2-AP UE context release message that includes an indication that the previous eNB of the UE forward a resumption request from a next eNB of the UE to the eNB.
 14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the Msg4 is a radio resource control (RRC) Connection Release message.
 15. An apparatus of an evolved node B (eNB) operable for early data transmission (EDT) in a user plane (UP) in a cellular internet of things (CIoT) evolved packet system (EPS) network, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to a user equipment (UE), a message 4 (Msg4) including a resume identifier (ID) and a next-hop chaining count (NCC); determine, at the eNB, a delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE; and encode, at the eNB for transmission to a previous eNB of the UE, an X2 application protocol (AP) path switch request message based on the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE; and a memory interface configured to store the Msg4 in a memory.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, the X2-AP path switch request message when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is unsuccessful.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: decode, at the eNB, an X2-AP path switch response message received from the previous eNB of the UE when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is unsuccessful.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to the previous eNB of the UE, an X2-AP UE context release message when the delivery status of the Msg4 to the UE is successful.
 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: encode, at the eNB for transmission to a mobility management entity (MME), an S1-AP path switch request; or decode, at the eNB, an S1-AP path switch request acknowledgement (ACK) received from the MME; or decode, at the eNB, an S1 suspend procedure received from the MME.
 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the Msg4 is a radio resource control (RRC) Connection Release message. 